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Srebotnik gives Serena an early send off

TENNIS / Djokovic, Sharapova and Ivanovic advance

— Photo: AP

ECSTATIC: Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik exults after defeating Serena Williams in the third round of the French Open.

PARIS: For Serena Williams, missed chances came in a flurry.

She shanked overheads, hit wild volleys and squandered six break points on Friday at the French Open. The result: a stunning third-round loss to Katarina Srebotnik, 6-4, 6-4.

This was Serena’s earliest exit in nine visits to Roland Garros and guarantees a first-time women’s champion. Serena, who won the French Open in 2002, was the lone former champion to enter the draw.

“I missed a lot of easy shots and a lot of key points that I felt like could have turned the match around,” a subdued Serena said. “I wasn’t able to capitalise.”

Nadal advances

Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal played for the fourth consecutive day in the rain-interrupted tournament and defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the fourth round.

No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic beat Wayne Odesnik 7-5, 6-4, 6-2, which left Robby Ginepri as the only American in the men’s draw.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova and No. 2 Ana Ivanovic advanced. In the completion of a second-round match halted in the second set on Thursday because of darkness, Sharapova beat American Bethanie Mattek 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Ivanovic reached the fourth round by beating 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-1.

Serena, who played the day’s first match on Court Suzanne Lenglen, converted only one of seven break-point chances and was 0-for-5 in the second set. She repeatedly set up points but failed to finish them, losing 14 of 21 at the net.

Srebotnik, seeded No. 27, earned the biggest victory of her career. She has only one win over a player ranked higher than the No. 5-ranked Serena, beating No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo at Zurich in 2005.

Serena didn’t play like a top player. In the final game of the first set, she dumped an easy overhead into the net. Four points later, she worked her way forward but blew a volley, then bent over in dismay and pressed her forehead against the tip of her racket handle.

Another botched overhead cost her in the sixth game of the second set, helping Srebotnik to reach 3-3.

When Serena fell behind she turned up the volume, grunting with almost every shot and screaming in celebration when she hit a winner. But she was unable to rally, and her 27-year-old opponent kept her cool down the stretch.

Tactics

Srebotnik credited her tactics for the upset, mixing the pace of her ground strokes to keep Serena off balance.

In the second set, Williams hit an ill-advised drop shot into the net to lose serve and fall behind 5-4. She saved two match points in the next game, but on the third yanked a forehand wide for her 25th unforced error, then met Srebotnik at the net with a grin and handshake.

Among those staying for the fourth round was No. 10 Patty Schnyder, who defeated Emilie Loit 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-2. No. 11 Vera Zvonareva and No. 25 Nadia Petrova completed rain-interrupted, second-round wins.

Murray eliminated

On the men’s side, No. 10 Andy Murray was eliminated by No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5, and No. 15 Mikhail Youzhny lost to No. 22 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.

Sharapova won despite 10 double-faults, giving her 27 in two matches. She finished with 51 unforced errors as she struggled to find a comfort level on clay. The French Open is the only Grand Slam she has yet to win. “You’re going to have to hit more balls, and you’re going to have to move a few extra steps to the ball,” Sharapova said. — AP

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